Is Spiritual Connection To Planet The Cure?

Commentary

by

Charmaine Coimbra

Yesterday I basked in the salty spray cast from the silver Pacific coast waves gone wild from a latent South Pacific typhoon. The ocean’s majestic power (and probably a dose of negative ions) energized my spirit. Experiencing this spectacle of rampant waves that crashed into the sand then ripped back to the sea just to collide with another incoming wave ready to burst open inspired reverence. It was like watching a sacred ceremony inside a most holy of churches.

C. Coimbra Photo

the misanthropist, thought not. I, the blogger, determined to find a blogging path for Blog Action Day, www.blogactionday.org decided to put this question out to people on Facebook and my personal e-mail lists.

Requesting 50 words or less, I asked:

Is it vital to have a spiritual connection to this planet in order to effectively correct the environmental, social, and humanitarian challenges that we/the planet presently face?

Ava Champion from Jasper, GA emailed this:

“If we look around, we see us, some animals and a planet. EVERYTHING else comes from the planet. We are responsible for only two things: being born and dying. All that happens in between happens because of where we live, on planet Earth, dare I say Mother Earth? It is impossible to live each day without taking something from this completely giving Mother. Human history is only a fraction of the earth’s history and yet we act as though we are the only reason it exists. When the reality is that the earth would be better off without us. Spiritually, we are lacking. We are not capable of understanding how small we really are. But our Mother continues to give us more than we deserve. We must strive to care for her and each other. Do something good every day. Give something back. Gee, pick up some trash, recycle as much as possible, and do unto others and all that. It will never be enough, but a good mother loves unconditionally. She always gives us another chance.

Terry Mock from Redlands, CA, emailed this,

Yes! We must respect all living things on this planet. We must not destroy life-plants, animals, vegetation, sea life or we will destroy ourselves. We must protect the cycle of life and the air that we breathe. Do our actions promote life and beauty and preservation of our planet?

Jeremy Munds, an Iraq War Veteran and now an imagery analyst with the United States Army, stated,

C. Coimbra Photo

No, it is just Loyalty, Duty, Repsect, Honor and Integrity. I have two more but I don’t think that they pertain. They might, so I’ll include Selfless Service and Personal Courage. Spiritual connections, in my eyes, are not needed. The ability to do what is right, legally and morally, even when no one is watching, is what we need to correct things.

Edward Parone of Nambe, NM sent,

For millions of years the earth has contained and produced enough “food” — animal, vegetable, mineral — to nourish and sustain the creatures and plants who lived on it. But since the arrival of homo sapiens we have been steadily and literally eating the planet. No one can say for sure just how long it will take this over-population to exhaust all the resources that once sustained life, but at the rate we are going, it is not that far off in evolutionary time. Gobble gobble, chomp chomp, burn and drown — and it will all be gone.

We have a spiritual connection to Earth regardless of whether we acknowledge it. It is like gravity, which also exists invisibly, and independent of our beliefs. Our challenge is to awaken ourselves in mindfulness to our spiritual nature, which will open the doors to perception that we are all part of everything, and that to heal/hurt some means to heal/hurt all, our planet included. I’ve recently been researching remote healing (also called healing at a distance). If you’re skeptical, Google it and then draw your own conclusions about interconnectedness.”

Alexis Strong of Santa Fe, noted,

It’s not possible for everyone on the planet to have a spiritual connection with it – so we can only hope that the collective power of who do will transcend mankind’s destruction. I do believe, however, that the planet, in its billion plus years of life, will survive any assault, including the ongoing human one.

I’m not positive what a “spiritual connection” is, but anyone who can’t simply see that unless the earth and everyone on it survives, that none of us do, has probably got their head too far up Rush Limbaugh’s butt to figure seriously into the discussion – except as an obstruction.

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Weather and Earth movements wove in and out of this morning’s national news which included generous bonuses to Wall Street giants, a violent attack by five boys against one boy who told the truth, health care issues posing the haves against the have-nots, nuclear proliferation, and terrorists’ attacks against civilization. Meanwhile the tiny issue of cigarette butts on the beach seems insignificant until one sees the common thread that fuses today’s news—R-E-S-P-E-C-T–or the lack thereof.

Spirituality is personal. Action is essential. Knowledge and education opens the door.

5 replies

What in the heck was the ridiculous comment about “Rush Limbaugh’s butt?” (Betting strongly the writer doesn’t even listen to Rush.) I listen proudly to Rush every day. I have heard him say hundreds of times that he is all for “clean air and clean water.” Like who the heck isn’t?

I think the writer has nothing to back his ideas. So, he goes for what he hopes will be an emotional attack on Rush. So sad. Common sense goes a lot farther.

Well I have to go chop down a tree. Need to make a big rack on which to cure a polar bear hide. Luckily, the Canadian government is in its 3rd year of issuing extra polar bear hunting licenses due to the bears’ overpopulation.

I think a “spiritual connection” is subjective and defined differently by everyone. I thought it noteworthy that most of those that did not think spiritual connection was the answer were men. Enough said there.
I have lived on my remote 40 acres for 31 years and if I were to acknowledge a spitual connection, I would say a definite yes and her name is Mother Nature. As corny as that may sound, nature always points out my succeses and failures as I try to live as sustainable a life as possible. How I “manage” my land can prove to be appropriate or not pretty quickly or may take decades.
When all else fails, what will be left is this planet. Why not recognize that without it, we are nothing.
I also would add that anyone that has Rush Limbaugh as a guiding light, might want to spend more time in nature.

Personally, I agree with Rush that a tree is never more beautiful than after it is made into a magnificent piece of furniture or a wonderful musical instrument. We can always plant more trees. Unfortunately, those trees would likely starve if the ecofreaks get their way about reducing/removing man-made CO2.

I would also add that anyone WHO has Al Gore as a guiding light, might want to spend more time in reality. Or maybe just study a little science?? When you get your Cap & Trade, drive your enviro car and have some squeaky broken windmill in your yard, you’ll realize that nothing has changed except for the decrease in what’s in your wallet and a massive lowering of your living standard. Oh, and the earth’s atmosphere will still have 0.0392% CO2 mixed with its 90%+ of water vapor as green House Gasses.

While all who have commented have valid points, and each perspective given is also valid, ibthought to hot down a few words myself. Whether we (as a race) believe it or not, this is in fact our home. I cannot say that our Grandmother and Mother Gaia would be better off without us; it seems to me that if she gave birth to each of us then we obviously belong here. There are countless religions that state we are caretakers of this place, and yet only now are we returning to that responsibility that we have ignored for so long. Changes are coming, my family, and to be aware and to survive we must be connected to our Mother. I do not accede that we should be so ego-centric that we claim global warming is our fault. In fact, “global warming” is merely a political vehicle. To say we understand earth cycles is absurd. We truly know so little, having written trends only for the last few centuries. Geologically, that is just the START of a mere hiccup in time. Think on this if you will: to respect the land and all creatures upon it takes nothing away from you. Indeed, your lives will be graced ten-fold. To disregard these things closes you to possibilties and the nurturing presence of our Mother. in short, accepting a spiritual bond with Gaia does nothing less than augment whatever your religion may be, should you claim one. Indeed, even should you not lay claim to religion at all, you still must see the wonders here, the beauty, the grandeur of this place. Given those perceptions must surely give rise to amazement and reverence, the true foundations of spirituality. Connect, Join, Honor!